DO area (banks of the Guadiana) for red, rosé and white wines in the Spanish region of Extremadura directly on the border with Portugal. It was named after the river Guadiana, which flows through the area in a westerly direction. It extends for the most part in the southern half, Extremadura Baja, and was formed in 1999 from six former country wine areas (VT). These are Cañamero in the northeast (5 municipalities), Matanegra in the far south (8), Montánchez in the centre (27), Ribera Alta in the central east (38), Ribera Baja in the central west (11) and Tierra de Barros in the southeast (36).
The vineyards cover around 22,000 hectares of vines. Despite the large extension over 100 kilometres, there is a homogeneous climate with hot, dry summers caused by easterly winds and temperate winters. There are sometimes quite different soil types. In Cañamero and Montánchez there are poor slate soils, in Ribera Alta sandy soils and in Matanegra, Ribera Alta and Ribera Baja Schwenmmland soils. The largest and best area, Tierra de Barros (Land of Clay), has fertile, nutrient-rich clay soils at around 500 metres above sea level.
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Markus J. Eser
Weinakademiker und Herausgeber „Der Weinkalender“